Kenya Wildlife Conservation and Education in East Africa

Mbango Safaris

:: CONSERVATION

Mbango Safaris and Responsible Tourism

Mbango Safaris has been involved in a myriad of different activities to help conserve the wildlife. With an incredible history, Peter, Elias and Caroline has had some real impact in the lives of elephants and rhinos. Also, by supporting many different conservation programs Mbango safaris has had a great impact in conservation.

Peter and Elias have been involved in operating several highly successful de-snaring teams who continually work at the magnificent Kenya national parks.

Currently we have been able to sponsor fulltime de-snaring teams. The snaring of wild animals, which was once practiced only at a subsistence level, is now commercial big business which is unsustainable and threatens the very existence of many species. Recent surveys show that wildlife has decreased by as much as 60% since l990 when the legal culling of wild game was allowed on a quota system within privately owned ranches. Unless the bush-meat crisis is addressed, this insidious form of poaching will bring down East Africa뭩 lucrative tourist industry and annihilate its irreplaceable wildlife heritage.

Snaring is a very ancient method of hunting, whereby wire nooses are set on game trails leading to water, high up in trees to trap giraffe, around communal middens or dung-piles to target territorial antelopes such as Dik dik and in freshly burnt grasslands where fresh green shoots attract large numbers of herbivores. Sometimes extended brush fences are created to funnel animals into gaps riddled with snares, where they are trapped in large numbers. Snares are made of metal wires, often taken from burst tyres found on main roads, from abandoned telephone lines, fashioned also from nylon fishing line or rope, vegetable fibres, and for the larger species, steel winch cables. These cruel devices are non-selective in that a wire snare set for a small antelope can cause the slow and agonizing death of an elephant as the noose tightens and cuts deeper and deeper into a limb or trunk, sometimes severing it entirely. 1000 snares at a 5% daily rate of success (which is what a poacher expects) will catch l8,250 animals in a year and it is not uncommon for our teams to lift l000 snares in just a couple of days. Today bush-meat is sold widely not only in local butcheries, but regionally further a field in African countries that have already eliminated their wildlife. These include Central, West and North Africa, as well as the Middle East where the demand is great, and it is even on sale internationally, smuggled into European capitals such as London, Brussels and Paris where there are large African immigrant communities.

The snaring of wild animals has always been a concern to wildlife Wardens, but only recently, since l990 when the legal culling of game was allowed on privately owned ranches, has the commercial element crept in and escalated to alarming proportions. Huge meat camps resembling commercial abattoirs have been found deep inside game areas with scores of carcases in the process of being butchered and transported to market, sometimes in donkey carts. Field Reports from the de-snaring units indicate that the de-snaring teams activities have had a positive impact, thereby saving the lives of literally hundreds of animals and alleviating unspeakable suffering on a massive scale.

The de-snaring teams that we support are fully mobile. Equipped with four wheel drive vehicles and camping equipment they are on patrol for weeks at a time and have lifted thousands of snares monthly and keeping up the pressure by revisiting the hot-spots.

We have also been supporting the conservation of the birds that bring us many delightful hours of pleasure. In order to co-ordinate and effectively implement our conservation efforts, we launched the Mbango Safaris Conservation Fund (MSCF) in 2008. A minimum of US$50 from each Mbango Safaris tour sign-up goes directly into the MSCF. This does not increase the cost of our tours as these projects incur no extra administrative expenses; therefore, the sponsoring of the various conservation projects we endeavor to support, does not make our tours more expensive. Ultimately, just by signing up, you are ensured that your contribution goes directly to nature conservation!

Our ultimate goal is to support wildlife and bird conservation in multi-faceted ways. By means of carefully managing our available funds, we are able to support numerous conservation efforts and activities, including the sponsoring of de-snaring teams, bird monitoring and research work, hands-on bird conservation (which entails efforts such as bird banding projects for endangered birds), and habitat protection. We are also actively involved in raising the awareness and knowledge of birdlife and wildlife, by encouraging local communities to value their birds and wildlife, by promoting the need for increased awareness and also training enthusiastic community members to become bird guides.

Many visitors to East Africa뭩 wilderness areas are interested in its future conservation. Increasingly, conservation and tourism are working hand in hand, and it is now possible for you to visit, support and become actively involved in one of our conservation project.

We offer tailor-made educational programs and field trips and a chance to study diverse environmental and community conservation issues. Our activities are tailored to your interests, the length of your stay and to the resources available. You will require no previous scientific knowledge or research skills.

Please contact us for more details on our educational programs and how you can support and get involved with conservation work.

P.O. Box 8914 - 00100, Nairobi, East Africa, Kenya. Langata Shopping Mall, Ground Floor.
Tel: 00 254 20 211 24 33 / 4. Fax: 00 254 20 222 93 40. Cellphone: 00 254 710 336 485. E-mail: info@mbangosafaris.com
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